General Aviation Accident Bulletin

AVweb'sGeneral Aviation Accident Bulletinis taken from the pages of our sister publication,Aviation Safetymagazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB's website atwww.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the accident, although some take longer. Find out more aboutAviation Safetyatwww.aviationsafetymagazine.com.

At about 1315 Eastern time and about 20 miles east of West Palm Beach, Fla., radar contact was lost with the airplane. The private pilot and passenger were presumed fatally injured and the airplane to have been destroyed on impact. Instrument conditions prevailed; an IFR flight plan was in effect for the flight, which departed West Palm Beach, Fla., for Marsh Harbour, The Bahamas.

As the airplane was vectored to avoid "cells" and "areas of heavy precipitation," the controller queried the pilot about his inability to maintain assigned headings. The pilot reported that his autopilot "had kicked off" and that "the winds are really weird up here." At about 1310, the airplane slowed to about 70 knots groundspeed on a northeasterly heading before it began an accelerating 90-degree right turn to the south. By 1313, the controller again asked, "...appears you've turned back to the northwest and...are you going to turn back eastbound?" The pilot replied, "I don't know what's going on up here. I'm working on instruments… acting really goofy here." Shortly thereafter, the airplane turned and descended from a northerly heading sharply to its right. The radar track tightened to the right as the target rapidly descended, then disappeared at about 1315 in an area that depicted heavy precipitation.

The U.S. Coast Guard conducted a search for the airplane by sea and by air over an area of 1115 square miles without success. After 36 hours, the search was suspended on February 3, 2019.

The airplane collided with an unoccupied helicopter and a light pole at about 1355 Mountain time during takeoff. The solo private pilot succumbed to his injuries seven days after the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The pilot had recently purchased the airplane. Visual conditions prevailed.

A 1353 automated weather observation about 51 nm south of the accident site included winds from 160 degrees at 12 knots gusting to 20 knots.

At about 1700 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual conditions prevailed.

According to the pilot, he was performing a post-maintenance test flight. He said the airplane had about 22 gallons of usable fuel prior to takeoff. The pilot took off and remained in the airport traffic pattern, conducting several landing approaches. He then departed the pattern and conducted flight maneuvers for about 30 minutes, after which he turned east toward the Outer Banks Barrier Islands. While eastbound, he experienced an electrical problem and turned around, heading for the airplane's base airport. Shortly thereafter, the electrical system failed, followed by the engine. The pilot attempted a restart but was unsuccessful and made a forced landing in a marsh.

According to the operator, the pilot was advised to remain in the traffic pattern of the local airport, considering how much maintenance was recently performed. Examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have prevented normal operation. About one cup of uncontaminated fuel was drained from the fuel system and the fuel selector was found in the open position. Both fuel caps were inspected and the fuel cap gaskets were intact. Both wing fuel tanks were empty of fuel, and there were no signs of fuel leakage.

The airplane experienced an inflight breakup at 1345 Pacific time. The private pilot and four individuals on the ground sustained fatal injuries; two individuals on the ground sustained serious injuries. The airplane was destroyed. Visual conditions prevailed over the accident location, while instrument conditions were nearby.

During the takeoff clearance, the tower air traffic controller cautioned the pilot regarding deteriorating weather, about four miles east. The airplane took off and made a left turn to the east. By 5 minutes after takeoff, the airplane had climbed to about 7800 feet AGL before it started a rapid descending right turn.

Numerous witnesses saw the airplane exit the clouds in a highspeed descent before parts started to break off. One witness "observed an aircraft emerge from the overcast layer on a northwesterly heading with a nose down pitch of approximately 60 degrees, pointed directly at my location with no discernible movement. It remained in that attitude for approximately 4 to 5 seconds before initiating a highspeed dive recovery. Approaching the bottom of the recovery, the aircraft began to roll to its right. As it did, the left horizontal stabilizer departed the aircraft, immediately followed by the remainder of the empennage. The left wing then appeared to shear off just outside of the number one (left) engine, igniting the left wing. After which, the aircraft disappeared behind the hill to the northeast of the observed location, trailing flames behind it. The sound of an explosion and large plume of black smoke immediately followed."

At about 1815 Pacific time, the airplane impacted mountainous terrain while en route. The commercial pilot and the passenger received fatal injuries. The airplane was destroyed. Undetermined night conditions existed at the impact location at the time of the accident.

The flight had departed Thermal, Calif., with North Las Vegas, Nev., as its destination. When the airplane was about 10 miles northwest of Palm Springs, Calif., at 3500 feet MSL, according to radar data, the pilot requested VFR flight following, and reported he was following California Highway 62.

While northbound, the airplane climbed to 4100 feet, then descended until radar contact was lost. The airplane came to rest on a steep hillside about 300 feet west of Highway 62 and about 500 feet above the highway. The 1815 automated weather observation about 20 miles northwest of the accident site included winds from 240 degrees at 12 knots, gusting to 19 knots, and scattered clouds at 900 feet AGL.

This article originally appeared in the May 2019 issue ofAviation Safetymagazine.

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